LUKE 16:9 Parallel Verse View

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Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

16:9 This sentence is very difficult to understand, so it’s likely that we’re missing some cultural cues here, and in the parable above.

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails, they may welcome you into the eternal dwellings.

UST I tell you, use the money you have in this world to make friends for yourselves. Then when that money is gone, those friends will welcome you into their homes, which will last forever.

BSB I tell you, use worldly wealth to make friends for yourselves so that when it is gone, they will welcome you into eternal dwellings.

MSB I tell you, use worldly wealth to make friends for yourselves so that when you fail,[fn] they will welcome you into eternal dwellings.

BLB And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by the mammon of unrighteousness, that when it fails, they might receive you into the eternal dwellings.

AICNT “[And][fn] I say to you, make friends for yourselves from the unrighteous wealth, so that when {it}[fn] fails, they may receive you into the eternal[fn] dwellings.

16:9, And: Absent from some manuscripts. D(05) BYZ TR

16:9, it: Later manuscripts read “you.” BYZ TR

16:9, eternal: That is “lasting.” The primary meaning of the Greek word pertains to a long period of time. (BDAG, αἰώνιος)

OEB And I say to you “Win friends for yourselves with your dishonest money,” so that, when it comes to an end, there may be a welcome for you into the Eternal Home.

WEBBE I tell you, make for yourselves friends by means of unrighteous mammon, so that when you fail, they may receive you into the eternal tents.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by how you use worldly wealth, so that when it runs out you will be welcomed into the eternal homes.

LSV And I say to you, make to yourselves friends out of the wealth of unrighteousness, that when you may fail, they may receive you into the continuous dwelling places.

FBV I tell you, use the wealth of this world to make friends for yourselves so that when it's gone, you'll be welcomed into an eternal home.

TCNT And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth so that when [fn]you die, those friends will receive you into eternal dwellings.

16:9 you die ¦ it runs out CT

T4T So I tell you (pl) this: Use the money that you have here on earth to help others so that they will become your friends. Then when you die and you cannot take any money with you, God and his angels will welcome you into a home in heaven that will last forever.

LEB And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it runs out they will welcome you into the eternal dwellings.

BBE And I say to you, Make friends for yourselves through the wealth of this life, so that when it comes to an end, you may be taken into the eternal resting-places.

Moff And I tell you, use mammon, dishonest as it is, to make friends for yourselves, so that when you die they may welcome you to the eternal abodes.

Wymth "But I charge you, so to use the wealth which is ever tempting to dishonesty as to win friends who, when it fails, shall welcome you to the tents that never perish.

ASV And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends by means of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when it shall fail, they may receive you into the eternal tabernacles.

DRA And I say to you: Make unto you friends of the mammon of iniquity; that when you shall fail, they may receive you into everlasting dwellings.

YLT and I say to you, Make to yourselves friends out of the mammon of unrighteousness, that when ye may fail, they may receive you to the age-during tabernacles.

Drby And I say to you, Make to yourselves friends with the mammon of unrighteousness, that when it fails ye may be received into the eternal tabernacles.

RV And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends by means of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when it shall fail, they may receive you into the eternal tabernacles.

SLT And I say to you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of injustice; that, when ye fail, they might receive you into lasting tents.

Wbstr And I say to you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.

KJB-1769 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.
( And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye/you_all fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. )

KJB-1611 And I say vnto you, Make to your selues friends of the [fn]Mammon of vnrighteousnesse, that when ye faile, they may receiue you into euerlasting habitations.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation and punctuation and footnotes)

16:9 Or, riches.

Bshps And I saye vnto you, make you friends of the vnrighteous Mammo, that when ye shall haue neede, they may receaue you into euerlastyng habitations.
(And I say unto you, make you friends of the unrighteous Mammo, that when ye/you_all shall have neede, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.)

Gnva And I say vnto you, Make you friends with the riches of iniquitie, that when ye shall want, they may receiue you into euerlasting habitations.
(And I say unto you, Make you friends with the riches of iniquity, that when ye/you_all shall want, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. )

Cvdl And I saye vnto you: Make you frendes with the vnrighteous Mammon, yt whan ye shal haue nede, they maye receaue you in to euerlastinge Tabernacles.
(And I say unto you: Make you friends with the unrighteous Mammon, it when ye/you_all shall have nede, they may receive you in to everlasting Tabernacles.)

TNT And I saye also vnto you: make you frendes of the wicked mammon that when ye shall departe they may receave you into everlastinge habitacions.
(And I say also unto you: make you friends of the wicked mammon that when ye/you_all shall depart they may receive you into everlasting habitations. )

Wycl And Y seie to you, make ye to you freendis of the ritchesse of wickidnesse, that whanne ye schulen fayle, thei resseyue you in to euerlastynge tabernaclis.
(And I say to you, make ye/you_all to you friendis of the ritchesse of wickedness, that when ye/you_all should fail, they receive you in to everlasting tabernacles/tents.)

Luth Und ich sage euch auch: Machet euch Freunde mit dem ungerechten Mammon, auf daß, wenn ihr nun darbet, sie euch aufnehmen in die ewigen Hütten.
(And I said you also: Maket you friends with to_him ungerechten Mammon, on/in/to that, when you(pl)/their/her now darbet, they/she/them you to_record/ingest in the eternal huts.)

ClVg Et ego vobis dico: facite vobis amicos de mammona iniquitatis: ut, cum defeceritis, recipiant vos in æterna tabernacula.[fn]
(And I to_you(pl) I_mean/say: do_it to_you(pl) friends from/about mammona iniquity: as, when/with deyou_did, recipiant you(pl) in/into/on eternal shelters/tents. )

16.9 Facite vobis. Mammona lingua Syrorum divitiæ iniquitatis, quia de iniquitate collectæ sunt. Si ergo iniquitas bene dispensata vertitur in justitiam, quanto magis epulæ divini sermonis, in quo nulla est iniquitas, bonum dispensatorem levant in cœlum.

16.9 Facite to_you(pl). Mammona tongue/language Syrorum wealth iniquity, because from/about iniquity collectæ are. When/But_if therefore iniquity well dispensed is_turned in/into/on justice, how_much more epulæ divine speech, in/into/on where none it_is iniquity, good dispensatorem raise/liftnt in/into/on sky.

UGNT καὶ ἐγὼ ὑμῖν λέγω, ἑαυτοῖς ποιήσατε φίλους ἐκ τοῦ μαμωνᾶ τῆς ἀδικίας, ἵνα ὅταν ἐκλίπῃ, δέξωνται ὑμᾶς εἰς τὰς αἰωνίους σκηνάς.
(kai egō humin legō, heautois poiaʸsate filous ek tou mamōna taʸs adikias, hina hotan eklipaʸ, dexōntai humas eis tas aiōnious skaʸnas.)

SBL-GNT καὶ ἐγὼ ὑμῖν λέγω, ⸂ἑαυτοῖς ποιήσατε⸃ φίλους ἐκ τοῦ μαμωνᾶ τῆς ἀδικίας, ἵνα ὅταν ⸀ἐκλίπῃ δέξωνται ὑμᾶς εἰς τὰς αἰωνίους σκηνάς.
(kai egō humin legō, ⸂heautois poiaʸsate⸃ filous ek tou mamōna taʸs adikias, hina hotan ⸀eklipaʸ dexōntai humas eis tas aiōnious skaʸnas.)

RP-GNT Κἀγὼ ὑμῖν λέγω, Ποιήσατε ἑαυτοῖς φίλους ἐκ τοῦ μαμωνᾶ τῆς ἀδικίας, ἵνα, ὅταν ἐκλίπητε, δέξωνται ὑμᾶς εἰς τὰς αἰωνίους σκηνάς.
(Kagō humin legō, Poiaʸsate heautois filous ek tou mamōna taʸs adikias, hina, hotan eklipaʸte, dexōntai humas eis tas aiōnious skaʸnas.)

TC-GNT [fn]Κἀγὼ ὑμῖν λέγω, [fn]Ποιήσατε ἑαυτοῖς φίλους ἐκ τοῦ μαμωνᾶ τῆς ἀδικίας, ἵνα, ὅταν [fn]ἐκλίπητε, δέξωνται ὑμᾶς εἰς τὰς αἰωνίους σκηνάς.
(Kagō humin legō, Poiaʸsate heautois filous ek tou mamōna taʸs adikias, hina, hotan eklipaʸte, dexōntai humas eis tas aiōnious skaʸnas. )

16:9 καγω ¦ και εγω CT

16:9 ποιησατε εαυτοις ¦ εαυτοις ποιησατε CT

16:9 εκλιπητε ¦ εκλειπητε HF PCK ¦ εκλιπη CT

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translation Notes:

Section 16:1–13: Jesus told a parable about a dishonest manager who acted wisely

In the main part of this section, 16:1–8b, Jesus told a parable that appears only in Luke. In this parable a rich man had hired a man to manage his money and possessions for him. The manager was dishonest in his work, so the rich man said that he could not continue to be his manager. But before the manager left this work, he used his position and money to cause other people to like him. He did this so that they would help him when he no longer had an income.

The main point of this parable is that the manager knew how to use money to make things better for his own future. In this way he was a good example for Jesus’ disciples. The parable does not mean that Jesus approved of the manager’s dishonesty.

In 16:8c–16:9 Jesus commented on the parable and applied it to his disciples. In 16:10–13 he gave other teachings about the proper use of wealth.

Other possible headings for this section are:

The Parable of the Shrewd Manager (NIV)

The dishonest man who was in charge of a rich man’s wealth

16:9a

I tell you,

¶ “Now I have some advice for you^(plur) who are my disciples:
¶ Jesus continued talking and he said, “Here is what I want you^(plur) to learn from this story/parable:

In 16:8c–d, Jesus made a general comment on the parable in 16:1–8b. In this verse Jesus told his disciples how they should apply the preceding parable to their own lives. In some languages it may be helpful to indicate this shift of topic in some way. For example:

And Jesus went on to say, “And so I tell you…” (GNT)

My disciples, I tell you (CEV)

Here’s the lesson: (NLT)

I tell you: Jesus often used the words I tell you to begin a statement that he wanted to emphasize. In this verse the Greek words occur in a different order than usual, literally, “I to-you I-say.” The pronouns I and you are in an emphatic position. This word order probably indicates a shift from a general statement about what the parable illustrated to the specific lesson that Jesus wanted his disciples to learn. The English versions do not indicate this difference in emphasis explicitly. One way to indicate it is to say:

And now, here is the lesson that I want you, my disciples, to learn.

16:9b

use worldly wealth to make friends for yourselves,

You^(plur) should use your money and possessions here on this evil earth as a means/way to make poor people your friends,
Many people use money in dishonest/evil ways. But I want you^(plur) to use it to help needy people. In this way, they will become your friends.

use worldly wealth to make friends for yourselves: Jesus was telling his disciples to use the money they had on earth to help other people who were in need. These people would then become their friends. In some languages it may be necessary to make some of this information explicit in order to avoid wrong meaning. For example:

use your money in this world to help poor people so that they will become your friends

Be careful that your translation does not imply that the disciples should pay bribes or give gifts to important people in order to gain jobs or other benefits in return.

worldly wealth: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as worldly wealth is literally “the mammon of unrighteousness,” or “unrighteous mammon.” The RSV and several other English versions translate it that way. Another way to translate this is:

dishonest wealth (NRSV)

The same Greek word was translated as “dishonest” in 16:8a–b. “Mammon” is an Aramaic term for wealth or possessions. Jesus may have referred to wealth as “unrighteous” for at least two reasons:

People often gain and use wealth in a sinful or dishonest way. For example:
although wealth is often used in dishonest ways, you should use it to make friends for yourselves (GW)
make friends for yourselves by means of money, which many people use in evil ways (adapted from the TRT)
use ‘money’, tainted as it is, to make yourselves friends (JBP)
Wealth is gained and used in a sinful world (in contrast to the type of riches that are stored in heaven). For example:
win friends for yourselves with the money that you have in this evil/sinful world (adapted from the TRT)

You may translate this verse part using either of these options. Be careful not to imply in your translation that Jesus was talking about money that his disciples had gained dishonestly.

In some languages, words such as “sinful” and “dishonest” are only used to describe a person’s character or deeds. They cannot describe things such as “money” or the “world.” If that is true in your language, you may need to leave this aspect of meaning implied. The BSB and many English versions have done this by translating this phrase as “worldly wealth/riches.” Another way to translate this idea is:

your wealth here in this world

16:9c–d

Jesus’ application of the parable in 16:9c–d is similar and parallel to 16:4b in the parable itself: Notice the similarities:

(16:4b) so that after my removal from management, people will welcome me into their homes

(16:9c–d) so that when it is gone, they will welcome you into eternal dwellings

If possible, try to keep such similarities in your translation of these verses.

16:9c

so that when it is gone,

so that when you^(plur) can no longer use money,
Then, when you^(plur) die and your wealth/money will become useless/worthless,

so that: The phrase so that introduces a purpose or intended result, namely, that “they will welcome you into eternal dwellings” (16:9d). In some languages it may be more natural to start a new sentence here. For example:

Then when it is gone (CEV)

when it is gone: The Greek clause that the BSB translates as when it is gone literally means “when it fails.” The RSV and several other English versions translate it that way.Some Greek manuscripts have “when you fail.” The Greek NT does not mention this reading, but the KJV follows it. This text has basically the same meaning as “when it fails,” because it refers to the time when you die and money is no longer of any use. This is referring to the time when money becomes useless, either at the end of the world or when a person dies. Be careful that it does not imply “when you have given away all your money.” Other ways to translate this clause are:

when you die and you do not need your wealth any more

when it comes to an end (JBP)

when money no longer has usefulness/value

16:9d

they will welcome you into eternal dwellings.

you^(plur) will be welcomed/received into permanent/everlasting homes in heaven.
they/someone will welcome/receive you^(plur) in heaven where you will live/stay forever.

they will welcome you: The Greek verb that the BSB translates literally as they will welcome you uses the same verb that was used in 16:4b. There are at least two ways to interpret the word they:

“They” refers to the friends that the disciples will make (16:9b). For example:According to the rules of pronoun reference in English, “they” would refer back to the last plural noun, which is “friends.” In some languages “they” is used as an indefinite plural. In that case, the reference would be ambiguous. It would also follow the recommendation in these Notes.
they will welcome you (NLT)
“They” refers to God. It is a Jewish way to avoid using the name of God. For example:
God will welcome you (TRT)

If possible, translate ambiguously so that either option can be understood. Other ways to do this are:

Use a passive verb, as many English versions do. For example:
you will be welcomed (GNT, NIV)
Use an active verb with an indefinite subject. For example:
there will be someone/those who will welcome you

If you are not able to translate ambiguously, it is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with most scholars. This interpretation exactly fits the parallel in 16:4b. It is likely that they refers back to “friends” in 16:9b.

eternal dwellings: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as eternal dwellings is literally “eternal tents.” Although the word “tents” usually refers to temporary dwellings, the phrase “eternal tents” refers here to the permanent homes of God’s children in heaven. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

those homes that continue forever (NCV)

in heaven where you will live/stay forever

General Comment on 16:9b–d

In some languages a literal translation may wrongly imply that, when someone’s money is gone, he dies. In order to avoid this wrong meaning, it may be possible to reorder these verse parts in the following way:

^9cYour money will not be with you forever. ^9bTherefore, help people with what belongs to you here on this earth and make friends with it. ^9dSo then when you arrive at the eternal place, there will be those who will welcome you.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: writing-endofstory

καὶ ἐγὼ ὑμῖν λέγω

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἐγώ ὑμῖν λέγω ἑαυτοῖς ποιήσατε φίλους ἐκ τοῦ μαμωνᾶ τῆς ἀδικίας ἵνα ὅταν ἐκλίπῃ δέξωνται ὑμᾶς εἰς τάς αἰωνίους σκηνάς)

Jesus uses the phrase I say to you to mark the end of the story and to introduce a teaching about how his disciples can apply the story to their lives. It may be helpful to make this a separate sentence. Alternate translation: [And you should do something similar]

ἑαυτοῖς ποιήσατε φίλους ἐκ τοῦ μαμωνᾶ τῆς ἀδικίας, ἵνα ὅταν ἐκλίπῃ, δέξωνται ὑμᾶς εἰς τὰς αἰωνίους σκηνάς

˱for˲_yourselves make friends by the money ¬the ˱of˲_unrighteousness in_order_that whenever ˱it˲_˓may˒_fail ˱they˲_˓may˒_receive you_all into (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἐγώ ὑμῖν λέγω ἑαυτοῖς ποιήσατε φίλους ἐκ τοῦ μαμωνᾶ τῆς ἀδικίας ἵνα ὅταν ἐκλίπῃ δέξωνται ὑμᾶς εἰς τάς αἰωνίους σκηνάς)

The identity of these friends is unclear. Interpreters understand them in a variety of ways. It is also unclear whether it is these friends who would welcome someone into the eternal dwellings or whether the expression is indefinite, equivalent to “you will be welcomed into the eternal dwellings.” Because the meaning is unclear and it is interpreted in such a variety of ways, it might be best if your translation did not say any more about this than ULT does.

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

τοῦ μαμωνᾶ τῆς ἀδικίας

the money ¬the ˱of˲_unrighteousness

Here, the term unrighteous is an echo of the previous verse, in which Jesus described the manager by the same term. It likely refers to the various shrewd means by which the people of this world make money. Jesus is applying it by association to money itself. Alternate translation: [the money you have in this world]

ὅταν ἐκλίπῃ

whenever ˱it˲_˓may˒_fail

Alternate translation: [when it is gone] or [when it no longer has any value]